Introduction to Pokemon

Catching Pokemon

While you'll be able to choose a Starter Pokemon at the beginning of the game, and sometimes people will give you Pokemon, you'll have to catch the rest by encountering them in the wild. You cannot catch Pokemon that belong to the various Trainers you encounter, but any Pokemon you run into in random battles are fair game! In battle, use your Pokemon to attack the wild Pokemon but avoid killing it! you want to reduce its HP bar (top left corner of the screen) to very little so it turns yellow or red. The lower the HP, the more likely your Pokeball will catch the wild Pokemon. Why go through all of the effort to impair and wound a wild Pokemon? Because Pokeballs have a high fail rate! Only select a Pokeball as an item when the Pokemon is weakened and your chances (though always somewhat random) of capturing the Pokemon are greatly increased.

Status Matters

By using moves that inflict Status ailments on a Pokemon -- Paralyze, Poison, Burn etc -- you can make the Pokemon much easier to capture.

Pokeballs

Another way to increase your capture rate is to use better Pokeballs. Super Balls, Hyper Balls and Ultra Balls all catch Pokemon at higher rates. What's our favorite? The awesome Dusk Ball for catching Pokemon at night (using the DS's internal clock) or in caves. Buy these in Pokemon Centers after Driftveil.

Tough Catch!

It's sometimes difficult to catch weak Pokemon with strong Pokemon on your team, since they will kill the enemy Pokemon in one hit. To avoid this, switch to a mis-matched type on purpose or use weak moves to damage the enemy slightly. An advanced technique involves using a passive-damaging item or move: Equip the Rocky Helmet and let the Pokemon damage you and take a small amount of damage itself until its HP is low; Or use a move Poison to inflict damage on the Pokemon after every turn.

High Grass and Environments Conducive to Pokemon Capture

Areas off the beaten path, like high grass, are where all the Pokemon are hiding. You won't encounter Pokemon on roads, generally, but patches of water, caves and rough soil are all fair game!

Rustling Grass, Shadows and Dust Clouds

Some Pokemon show signs of their presence in the form of shadows on the ground, rustling grass or dust clouds in caves. Approach these to fight unique Pokemon, like Audino who appears in rustling grass near the beginning of the game.

Raising Your Pokemon

You can store hundreds of Pokemon on Amanita's computer, which you can access through terminals in every Pokemon Center, but you can only carry around six with you at a time. By entering these Pokemon in battle, you will make them stronger. After each successful battle, every Pokemon that participated gets EXP, points that raise its Level. With higher Levels come new moves, more HP and better stats.

Battle Other People, and Strong Pokemon

You win far more EXP battling Trainers on the road or special foes like Gym Leaders. If wild Pokemon have a higher level than your Pokemon you also gain more EXP.

The Lucky Egg

You can get a great item called The Lucky Egg in Chargestone Cave that doubles the EXS gained by the Pokemon who holds it. Sweet!

The Pokemon Day Care

Leave your Pokemon at the Day Care on Route 3 to increase their Level without any battling. It will cost you money, and it takes a while (the EXP gained is based on steps you take). There are some other downsides too: You won't get to choose your moves learned (they will be replaced at random as your Pokemon grows), and certain stats raised by battle won't be affected, so your Pokemon will end up being weaker than it would based on battle EXP alone!

Evolution

Most Pokemon evolve in to different forms based on their Level. Pokemon can have two or even three forms. With an Evolution comes a new look and boosted stats, like greater HP. You'll also get to learn new moves, and you may even get a new Type. Check out the Pokedex for detailed information on how your Pokemon will evolve.

Health and Status

Your Pokemon's health is measured in HP -- a bar in the lower right of the battle screen. Lose it all and your Pokemon will no longer be able to fight. You can use healing items like Potions to prevent your Pokemon from fainting, and even after it faints you can use a Revive item to bring it back to fighting form. There are many Items that are essential for keeping your Pokemon healthy, so be sure to check out the Items Section for more on this topic!

Battle

You will spend most of your time doing two things in Pokemon Black and White: Exploring and Battling. In a Pokemon battle you choose the Pokemon who battles as well as the moves it uses. There are three types of moves, Attack Moves (which deal HP damage), Defense Moves (which protect or heal your character), and Status Moves (which inflict a Status ailment like Poison on an enemy or improve your own stats like Speed and Damage). Only by using your Pokemon in battle will you come to understand their moves, so get out there and pick a fight! A fight ends when you defeat the enemy Pokemon -- or if all Pokemon on your team have no HP. In the latter scenario, you will be returned to a nearby Pokemon Center and you will lose a wad of cash.

Types

Each Pokemon has one or two Types that determine its strengths and weaknesses in battle, and what sort of moves, TMs and HMs it can learn. When you face a Pokemon of a certain Type, you should always consider what Type of Pokemon is best suited to use. Many Tyoe matchups are somewhat logical: Water Types douse Fire Types, and Fire Types are great for melting Ice Types. Many matchups are equally illogical, however (Bug is good against Psychic and Dark types? Whatever!), so be sure to check out our Pokemon Type Chart for a full rundown. Each time you encounter new Pokemon, turn to the Pokedex to figure out what Pokemon you should use to make the fight easy.

TMs and HMs

TMs,Technical Machines, and HMs, Hidden Machines, are just Moves you can teach to multiple Pokemon. Use the TMs and HMs by accessing them in your inventory. You can only teach certain HMs and TMs to Pokemon based on Type. HMs have the added benefit of giving you special mobility in the field. Teach these to Pokemon in your party and then access them in the pause menu to use them. Here are some of the Moves you can teach your Pokemon to make getting around easier:

HM01 Cut - Cut down the small saplings blocking some paths / Given by Fennel in Striaton City

HM02 Fly - Instantly travel to towns and other places you've visited / Given by Bianca in Driftveil City

HM03 Surf - Travel on the surface of oceans and lakes / Given by Alder at Twist Mountain

HM04 Strength - Move big boulders out of the way / Given by a boy in a house north of the Battle Institute in Nimbasa City

HM05 Waterfall - Travel up waterfalls / In route 18, in the far southwest is a thin strip of grass above the beach, open the Pokeball here

HM06 Dive - Explore the bottom of the ocean via the dark patches of water / Given by a girl in front of her house in Undella Town

Additionally, a few TMs can be used outside of battle:

TM28 Dig - Return to the entrance of caves and dungeons / Given by a man in a house on Route 4

TM70 Flash - Lights up dark caves / Given by a man next to a rubbish bin in Castelia City

While it's not a TM or HM, the move Sweet Scent can be learned by Foongus and Maractus that makes more wild Pokemon appear.

Pokemon Centers and Shops

In each town you can heal your Pokemon at Pokemon Centers and buy items in various shops -- including the shops in the Center, which may sell TMs and unusual Pokeballs. In the Pokemon center you can switch out your Pokemon using the computer terminal and accessing Amanita's Computer. For a full list of useful Items, check out the Items section.